Flag of Arkansas
Encyclopedia
The flag
of the state of Arkansas is a red field charged
with a large blue-bordered white diamond. Twenty-nine five-pointed stars
appear on the flag: twenty-five small white stars within the blue border, and four larger blue stars in the white diamond. The inscription "ARKANSAS" appears in blue within the white diamond, with one star above and three stars below. The star above and the two outer stars below point upwards; the inner star below points downwards.
The design was created by Willie Kavanaugh Hocker
of Wabbaseka
and selected from a field of 65 entries in a 1912 contest.
-bearing state in the Union". (Crater of Diamonds State Park was the only diamond mine in North America at the time, before more recent discoveries in Colorado
and Montana
.) The number (25) of white stars around the border of the diamond represents Arkansas' position as the 25th state to join the union. The blue star above "ARKANSAS" represents the Confederate States of America
, which Arkansas joined in secession.
The three stars below "ARKANSAS" have three separate meanings:
The statute states that the two outer, upward-pointing stars of the three are considered "twin stars" representing the "twin states" of Arkansas and Michigan
, which it claims were admitted together on June 15, 1836. However, that part of the statute contains two inaccuracies:
chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution
(DAR) wished to present a state flag for the commissioning of the battleship USS Arkansas
. When it was discovered that Arkansas did not have a state flag, the DAR chapter decided to sponsor a contest to design a flag. Hocker, a member of the Pine Bluff DAR chapter, won with a design that is similar to the current flag. She designed the flag with three blue stars in the middle of the white diamond and omitted "ARKANSAS". At the request of the flag committee, chaired by Secretary of State Earle Hodges, Hocker added "ARKANSAS" and rearranged the stars to one on top and two on bottom. This flag was adopted by the legislature on February 26, 1913.
In 1923, the legislature added a fourth star, representing the Confederate States of America. This fourth star was originally placed so that there were two stars above the state name and two below; this was to include the Confederacy alongside Spain, France, and the United States. Since this disturbed the other two meanings of the original three stars, the legislature corrected this in 1924 by placing the Confederate star above "ARKANSAS" and the original three stars below it, as it is today.
In 2011, Act 1205 (formerly House Bill 1546) was signed by Governor Beebe adding some more details to the state flag. In the terms of colors, the red and blue used on the state flag is Old Glory Red and Old Glory Blue. The Act also stated that flags purchased by the Secretary of State must be manufactured in the United States.
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Flag
A flag is a piece of fabric with a distinctive design that is usually rectangular and used as a symbol, as a signaling device, or decoration. The term flag is also used to refer to the graphic design employed by a flag, or to its depiction in another medium.The first flags were used to assist...
of the state of Arkansas is a red field charged
Charge (heraldry)
In heraldry, a charge is any emblem or device occupying the field of an escutcheon . This may be a geometric design or a symbolic representation of a person, animal, plant, object or other device...
with a large blue-bordered white diamond. Twenty-nine five-pointed stars
Pentagram
A pentagram is the shape of a five-pointed star drawn with five straight strokes...
appear on the flag: twenty-five small white stars within the blue border, and four larger blue stars in the white diamond. The inscription "ARKANSAS" appears in blue within the white diamond, with one star above and three stars below. The star above and the two outer stars below point upwards; the inner star below points downwards.
The design was created by Willie Kavanaugh Hocker
Willie Kavanaugh Hocker
Willie Kavanaugh Hocker is credited as the designer of the flag of Arkansas.- Early life :Born in 1862 in Kentucky, she and her family moved to Arkansas in 1870. After obtaining a certificate to teach in 1887, she became a history teacher in Wabbaseka...
of Wabbaseka
Wabbaseka, Arkansas
Wabbaseka is a city in Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. Its population was 323 at the 2000 U.S. census. It is included in the Pine Bluff, Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Wabbaseka is located at ....
and selected from a field of 65 entries in a 1912 contest.
Symbolism
The flag's elements have a complex symbolism. According to the 1987 state law defining the flag, the diamond represents Arkansas' status as "the only diamondDiamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
-bearing state in the Union". (Crater of Diamonds State Park was the only diamond mine in North America at the time, before more recent discoveries in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
and Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
.) The number (25) of white stars around the border of the diamond represents Arkansas' position as the 25th state to join the union. The blue star above "ARKANSAS" represents the Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
, which Arkansas joined in secession.
The three stars below "ARKANSAS" have three separate meanings:
- The three nations to which Arkansas has belonged (SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and the U.S.) - The Louisiana PurchaseLouisiana PurchaseThe Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana in 1803. The U.S...
, which brought Arkansas into the U.S., was signed in 1803. - Arkansas was the third state (after LouisianaLouisianaLouisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
and MissouriMissouriMissouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
) formed from the Louisiana Purchase.
The statute states that the two outer, upward-pointing stars of the three are considered "twin stars" representing the "twin states" of Arkansas and Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, which it claims were admitted together on June 15, 1836. However, that part of the statute contains two inaccuracies:
- The three stars were in a single row in Hocker's original design; they were not arranged in a triangle until later. Though one source indicates that the "twin states" symbolism was added by the 1924 Legislature, another states Hocker's "twin stars" are actually two of the 25 stars in the diamond, in the far left and right points; the latter is more consistent with the original design, even though Michigan is actually the 26th state.
- While both states' acts of admission were signed by President Andrew JacksonAndrew JacksonAndrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
on that day and Arkansas became a state immediately, Michigan was offered admission only on condition of ceding the Toledo StripToledo WarThe Toledo War , also known as the Michigan-Ohio War, was the almost entirely bloodless boundary dispute between the U.S. state of Ohio and the adjoining territory of Michigan....
to OhioOhioOhio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
in exchange for the Upper PeninsulaUpper Peninsula of MichiganThe Upper Peninsula of Michigan is the northern of the two major land masses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan. It is commonly referred to as the Upper Peninsula, the U.P., or Upper Michigan. It is also known as the land "above the Bridge" linking the two peninsulas. The peninsula is bounded...
. Once that happened, it was finally admitted January 26, 1837.
History
Around 1912, the Pine BluffPine Bluff, Arkansas
Pine Bluff is the largest city and county seat of Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. It is also the principal city of the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area and part of the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Pine Bluff, Arkansas Combined Statistical Area...
chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution
Daughters of the American Revolution
The Daughters of the American Revolution is a lineage-based membership organization for women who are descended from a person involved in United States' independence....
(DAR) wished to present a state flag for the commissioning of the battleship USS Arkansas
USS Arkansas (BB-33)
USS Arkansas , a was the third ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the 25th state.A dreadnought battleship, Arkansas was laid down on 25 January 1910 at Camden, New Jersey, by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation. She was launched on 14 January 1911 sponsored by Miss Nancy Louise...
. When it was discovered that Arkansas did not have a state flag, the DAR chapter decided to sponsor a contest to design a flag. Hocker, a member of the Pine Bluff DAR chapter, won with a design that is similar to the current flag. She designed the flag with three blue stars in the middle of the white diamond and omitted "ARKANSAS". At the request of the flag committee, chaired by Secretary of State Earle Hodges, Hocker added "ARKANSAS" and rearranged the stars to one on top and two on bottom. This flag was adopted by the legislature on February 26, 1913.
In 1923, the legislature added a fourth star, representing the Confederate States of America. This fourth star was originally placed so that there were two stars above the state name and two below; this was to include the Confederacy alongside Spain, France, and the United States. Since this disturbed the other two meanings of the original three stars, the legislature corrected this in 1924 by placing the Confederate star above "ARKANSAS" and the original three stars below it, as it is today.
In 2011, Act 1205 (formerly House Bill 1546) was signed by Governor Beebe adding some more details to the state flag. In the terms of colors, the red and blue used on the state flag is Old Glory Red and Old Glory Blue. The Act also stated that flags purchased by the Secretary of State must be manufactured in the United States.
Salute
The law defining the flag also defines a text to be used in saluting the flag: "I salute the Arkansas Flag with its diamond and stars. We pledge our loyalty to thee.."
See also
- State of Arkansas
- Symbols of the state of Arkansas
- Great Seal of the State of Arkansas
- Symbols of the state of Arkansas
External links
- Official State Flag entry in The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture
- Flag protocol (Arkansas Secretary of State's educational website)
- Arkansas flag law (Arkansas General Assembly website)